Subaru BRZ STI Sport gains chassis tweaks and racy interior

The most potent version of the Subaru BRZ has been revealed at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show. Jointly developed with in-house performance arm Subaru Tecnica International (STI), the BRZ STI Sport launches in the Japan domestic market with a strictly limited “launch edition” in the new Cool Grey colour that recently debuted on new generation XV.

While on-sale only in Japan, Subaru says some elements will be included in a yet-to-be disclosed Australian variant, which will be on sale around end of year.

Befitting its STI status, the new range-topping variant is designed to achieve new levels of driving performance through extensive chassis enhancement and interior upgrade. The suspension features flexible V-braces and flexible draw stiffener front suspension for better handling, while the ZF-made SACHS shock absorbers and coil springs are specially tuned by STI to improve steering response and suppress roll. Elsewhere, the wheels have been up sized to 18-inch.

Setting the BRZ STI Sport from the rest of the range is a new front bumper with mesh side intakes and STI logo. The interior colour motif is unique to the variant, featuring Bordeaux red highlights and piano black trim. Quality materials include genuine leather and Alcantara seats.

The special edition model carries over the 2.0-litre horizontally-opposed Boxer 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 152kW of power and 212Nm of torque, matched exclusively to a six-speed manual transmission.